Accidentally Yours (Coyote Bluff Series Book 1) (14 page)

Ian felt like a whole new man. He’d spent enough time in the shower to use every ounce of hot water and scrubbed off the days of being in wolf skin. Showered, shaved and slathered in deodorant, he felt human again. He laughed. He wasn’t technically human in the first place, but it was all semantics.

Standing in front of the local pack Alpha’s house was nerve wracking. Anxiety rode him hard
, bringing his wolf to the surface. He could smell the other shifters inside. Skip had invited him, so he would have safe passage into the meeting. It was the thoughts of keeping from fighting and getting out again that had him a little excited. A fight would be fine. It would probably work off some of his energy, but he wanted to get help from the pack to guard Cammie. If he beat on a bunch of their males he was pretty sure they wouldn’t want to help him.

With a sigh he walked onto the porch and rang the doorbell. He expected Skip to answer the door
, so when a short female with more freckles than he’d ever seen on one person before opened the door he was startled. “Um. Hi. I’m Ian.”

“Hi, Ian. I’m Amie. Come on in, we’ve been waiting on you.”

He stepped into the house and was accosted by the smell of so many different kinds of shifters he fought the urge to plug his nose. Amie was some sort of cat, cougar perhaps. There was the earthy smell of bears, coyotes—of course—and a few he’d never come across. His wolf was confused but interested. The only scent missing was the heavy, bitter smell of anger.

“Come on in. We started talking about your lady friend, but we wanted to get the information from you before we talked about shifts and stuff.”

Amie kept talking until they walked into a large, open living room. The furniture had been pushed against the walls to open up the floor. Fifteen people stood or sat in the room, and all thirty eyes turned to him in unison. The Alpha stood near the doorway and stepped forward the moment Ian walked into the room. “Ian. Nice to see you clothed.”

“Nice to be clothed. I’
d forgotten what it’s like to be in fur for days on end.”

“Let’s get some business taken care of and then I thought we’d chat about Cammie and her predicament.” Quick, to the point
, and no posturing.

Ian’s respect for the male rose a little more. He hadn’t run into too many Alphas who were powerful enough to just be normal. Most were constantly putting others to the test. Fighting an Alpha’s sway quickly became tiresome.

“That would be fantastic. I’m worried for her.” A growl, low and deep, sounded from one corner of the room. Ian scanned the faces until he came to Zeke. “I want her safe, just like you, coyote.”

Zeke stepped forward. “I don’t want her hurt by the asshole or by you, wolf. She’s a friend, and fragile. I will protect her myself if I think you’re going to screw with her head or heart.”

“No worries. I’m not planning on hurting her. Trust me.”

“Enough you two. Let’s get him in the pack then, Zeke, if you want to challenge him so be it.” Turning to Ian Skip continued. “You know how to do this, right?”

Ian took a deep breath, lowered himself to his knees and tilted his head to the side, baring his neck. “I, Ian Andrews, request permission to join your pack, live my life under your laws, and vow to protect yours with my own life.”

“Well done. Now, get up.” Turning to the other shifters. “Ian is accepted into the pack. As Alpha I deem him worthy of our protection and help.”

Polite clapping sounded around the room. When it stopped the Alpha continued. “You have something to ask us for, do you not?”

“Cammie Henderson saved me two nights ago. I owe her for so much, but one of the things I can supply her to offset my debt is safety. Her ex-boyfriend, Ron Norte, has not only attacked her two nights ago, but came to her home yesterday and assaulted her. I know that the police are involved, but I would like to give her more.”
Stop rambling
. He took a deep breath and continued, more focused. “Anyway, I would like to ask the pack for assistance in guarding her from the human male.”

“And what do you offer the pack for our assistance?”

“What do you need? I’m a computer programmer, not a soldier. I’ve just set up my company so I don’t have a lot of money to contribute.”

“We have a young cub, a wolf cub, who was left in foster care. We’ve taken him into the pack, but without another wolf to help him through his shifts and
teach him how to control his animal, he’s become quite the handful. If you’d be willing to work with him, like a mentor, a few times a week, I would call that fair payment.”

“Done.”

“Good. He’s staying with the Cartridge’s. I’ll get you their number after the meeting.” Skip turned to the group and Ian felt a pulse of power. “The other thing we need to discuss is what led you to need Cammie’s help. I want all the coyote-males to step forward.”

Tension was thick in the room when eleven men stepped forward. Most of them had confusion written across their faces, but a few
had expressions that showed a mixture of guilt and anger. “Ian was chased on Friday night by a group of you. I never sanctioned any action against the wolf, even when you asked me for permission. The ones that went against my orders to leave him alone will be sniffed out and Ian will decide on the punishment.”

A quick jerk of Skip’s head gave Ian direction. He stepped toward the men, sniffing lightly near each man. He easily found four that had chased him. A low growl rumbled in his chest as the scent triggered his memories of being hunted. There were a couple more that hadn’t attended the meeting.

“Those four were in the group. There are at least two more not here.”

“What the hell? I did no such
—”

“Shut up! You will not speak until I’ve said
you can. You asses went against a direct order. Do you know what the law says I can do to you? Death. I can sentence you to death. Fuck, Glenn. Why would you do that? No, wait. I don’t want to know.” Turning to Ian. “I give you permission to pick their punishment or what compensation you deem necessary to forgive their idiotic actions.”

While two of the men sputtered in outrage the other two hung their heads. Ian watched the four intently, never letting his gaze waver. He’d just been accepted into the pack, harming a few of the members wouldn’t be a smart move, but he needed to pick something that would give the message that he wasn’t a pushover either.

He pointed to the two that showed contrite shame. “Those two will guard Cammie to pay back some of what I owe her. Pack law requires my compensation to her, so I take theirs as mine.” The two males raised their heads and nodded instantly in acceptance. Good. Then he pointed to the two asses still attempting to deny their involvement. “Those two will accept a challenge from me. If I win, they will pay Zeke for the cost of detailing Cammie’s car when he removed the blood from her carpets. The blood that had been caused by them.”

A quick inhale of the community breath made the hairs on his arms raise. Challenging so early after being accepted probably wasn’t smart, but he was done. He didn’t want to run anymore, didn’t want to be chased from his latest home. He liked the area and wanted to set down roots. Having a pack to run with would be nice.

“Hmm, interesting but definitely acceptable terms.” Skip’s voice held a touch of amusement. “What do you say, boys? Do you agree to Ian’s challenge?” The two who’d already agreed to guard Cammie skittered back and melted into the crowd. That left the two assholes. They swiveled their heads between Ian and Skip, glaring anger and defiance.

“Fucking wolf. Skip, I can’t believe you’re going to let that whoring mate-stealer in
to our pack and then defend him. I did nothing but what I’m allowed to do by law. I was running an interloper from our area. There is no reason for me to accept anything.”

“Jack, you have pushed too hard this time. I explicitly told you not to go after the wolf. It was a direct order from your Alpha. So, in going against my orders you broke the law. Period. So, accept the challenge or leave. Your choice.”

Jack, the asshole, growled deeply but the first hints of fear shone in his beady eyes. Ian had taken on six of them and come away only scratched. The ass was doing the quick math and knew he’d lose. A quick flash of triumph crossed his face before he spoke. “Fine. I accept, but I want Billy and Ray to be in on the challenge. They’re the other two he said weren’t here. If me and Tom have to fight him, I want the other two in on it too.”

Skip started to speak and was shaking his head, but Ian wanted it done. He stepped forward and let a low growl rumble in his chest. “I accept, but I want it done now, tonight. I have more important things to do th
an to wait on you. Call them now, and if they aren’t here in twenty minutes I want to proceed with just you two.”

“Fine.” Jack turned to Tom, or at least Ian assumed that’s who the other fuming male was. “Call them, and tell them to be quick.”

“Are you sure you want to take on all four at once?” Skip’s low voice held indecision.

“Yes. I need this done.”

“So be it. I’ll give you the option to fight in human form or fur. But, I warn you. These guys have been running and fighting together since they were born. Be careful.” The alpha walked away leaving him standing, alone, in a sea of shifters.

No one approached or spoke to him when he walked out of the house. What had he expected? He’d just challenged four of theirs and committed two more to guarding a human female who wasn’t even his mate. He felt isolated
, but took the time to center his thoughts.
Do I fight in fur or not?
His wolf was strong and outweighed each coyote by a good thirty pounds. The snarl his animal let loose in his mind was enough to tell him that it might be best fighting in wolf form.

A commotion by the door pulled him from his thoughts. He caught a whiff of the last two men that had been involved in the attack on him. A growl rumbled in his chest. His wolf was snapping at his control, ready to shift and take down the yippers. He stood his ground, refusing to walk toward the other men.
Let them come to me and get their asses handed to them
.

“Everyone will go outside. Boys, you’ve fucked up. Get your asses out there and wait.” Skip’s voice was strong and laced with power.

Ian fought the push and won, barely. He watched everyone else file out of the house and wondered at the quiet excitement. Did they want him to lose to their brethren? It had almost felt like they were looking forward to the men getting put in their place. Perhaps he’d find a place in this pack yet.

He found Skip standing by the door, a mixture of concern and amusement on his face. “Ian, we don’t have many rules in a challenge. They can attack you all at once if they want to. I would say watch Tom. He’s usually the leader and the rest will take orders from him. You better take them all down good, you hear me? If you don’t whoop them good they’ll just keep coming back atcha.”

Ian nodded. He understood. Pack dynamics required that he pin all of the males so they all knew he was stronger. Mercy had no place in this sort of challenge. He strode through the door and down the steps, following the scent of the rest of the pack. It led him to a large barn behind the house. He was expecting a clearing in the woods, but fighting inside the building would be fine, too.

Just before he walked into the building Zeke strolled out of the darkened doorway. Ian tensed, but didn’t back down. “What’s up, coyote?”

“Wolf, be nice. I’m the only friend you have here at the moment. I’d stand in as your second if you’ll have me.”

“Why?”

“You have feelings for Cammie and are taking on a lot of damage to keep her safe. She’s a good friend to me and I feel protective of her. If you can use a second I’ll step in just to keep you from getting killed and making her sad.”

Ian couldn’t help it. He burst out with a deep laugh. Finding an ally because he was chasing a female was amusing. He stuck his hand out and shook the other male’s. “I accept your offer as second. If something happens to me I need you to protect her. She’s in a world of trouble and is just too precious to not help.”

“You got it.”

They entered the building together. For once Ian found comfort in knowing someone else would take care of things if he died. Zeke might be a coyote, but he cared for Cammie. That was enough to take some of the stress off his shoulders. No matter what happened she’d be safe. He walked over to an empty chair and started stripping. Might as well get the show on the road.

“I take it you’re fighting in wolf form?” Skip’s question came from behind him.

“Yep.”

“Good.” The other man walked to the center of the barn and cleared his throat. “Ian has chosen fur. All combatants will enter the ring.”

Ian strode forward, not worried about being naked in front of the strangers. He’d shifted so many times with so many people that he just couldn’t worry about it. He entered the ring, a cleared portion of the dirt floor, and watched the other men enter. They were all glaring at him, snarling quietly under their breath.
Good
. The more pissed off they were, the more disjointed their attacks would be. He smiled, flashing his teeth, and chuckling at the snarls he received in return.